SAPPHIRE HD 4730 lands in Europe. Performance graphics at a competitive price

Following the successful launch of the world’s first 40nm Graphics processor, the HD4770, SAPPHIRE Technology, the leading manufacturer and worldwide supplier of AMD/ATI based graphics solutions is now shipping the SAPPHIRE HD 4730 - a powerful midrange graphics card that will appeal to enthusiasts on a budget.

Like SAPPHIRE’s high end graphics cards, the new HD 4730 uses the latest GDDR5 memory and the powerful graphics architectures from the ATI division of AMD, incorporating multi-purpose stream processing units, integrated memory management architecture and on-chip hardware video decoding.

SAPPHIRE HD 4730 has 640 stream processors – twice as many as previous generation mid-range cards - and core clock speed of 750MHz - faster than competing products - together with 512MB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit interface clocked at 900MHz (3600MHz effective). The SAPPHIRE HD 4730 delivers excellent performance for gaming or image rendering at a competitive price point.

Like the previous generation, SAPPHIRE HD 4730 supports DirectX10.1 for enhanced rendering performance and special lighting effects now being implemented in the latest games. The SAPPHIRE HD 4730 series uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features connectors for CrossFireX bridge cables, allowing two cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for higher graphics performance. The SAPPHIRE HD 4730 uses a conventional two slot fan assisted cooler optimized for low noise and offers dual-link DVI, VGA and HDMI ports on the bracket, allowing a choice of two displays to be used without adaptors.

SAPPHIRE graphics cards in the HD 4000 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo™ HD Technology for enhanced Video display. They feature a new generation of built in hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder) considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray™ and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. Integrated upscaling technology delivers the best quality DVD video images. With the latest drivers, the SAPPHIRE HD 4730 also offers ATI Stream processing for the acceleration of video transcoding and other supported applications.

SAPPHIRE HD 4000 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista™ Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst® suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features.